Ancient Rome · 2020-03-18 · Pompeii Mount Vesuvius is just a few miles from Pompeii. Mount...
Transcript of Ancient Rome · 2020-03-18 · Pompeii Mount Vesuvius is just a few miles from Pompeii. Mount...
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Ancient Rome7 Articles
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Roman Gods and Goddesses156 words
The Great Conquerors335 words
Pompeii874 words
The Start of Rome249 words
Roman Lands811 words
The Punic Wars788 words
The Legend of Romulus and Remus353 words
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Page 1 of 16
Roman Gods and Goddesses
Roman Gods and GoddessesThis text is adapted from an original work of the Core Knowledge Foundation.
Matthew Clark
The Romans believed that the god Saturn controlled the harvest.
The ancient Romans lived thousands of years ago. They built one of the gratest empires of
the ancient world. This empire was known as the Roman Empire.
The ancient Romans believed in many gods. They believed that gods controlled everything in
nature: the wind, sun, rain, even earthquakes.
The Romans believed their gods were very involved in their lives. These gods had different
names than the Greek gods because the Romans spoke Latin, a different language than the
Greeks spoke. The goddess Juno watched over Roman brides and their marriages. The god
Mars decided which side should win a battle or lose a war.
If a Roman farmer had a good crop, it was because the gods were pleased. If the same
farmer had a bad crop, it meant the gods were angry. Because of this, the ancient Romans
worried about angering their gods.
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The Great Conquerors
The Great ConquerorsThis text is adapted from an original work of the Core Knowledge Foundation.
Shari Griffiths
The Romans conquered lands that once werepart of ancient Greece. They brought many Greek
statues and paintings back to Rome. They alsobrought Greek stories and plays and copied
Greek building styles.
Thousands of years ago, the ancient Romans ruled
all the lands around the Mediterranean Sea. The
ancient Romans were great conquerors. They had
large, well-trained armies. Their navy ruled the seas.
After the Romans defeated an enemy, the captured
land became part of Rome.
These lands were called provinces. The Roman
Senate sent a governor to each province. The
governor made sure the province paid taxes to
Rome. The Romans usually let the conquered
people keep their laws and customs. Sometimes
they even made the conquered people citizens of
Rome.
The columns of the Roman Temple of Saturnwere copied from Greek architecture.
The Impact of Ancient Greece
The Romans copied the Greeks because they
admired the beauty of Greek art, writings, and
buildings. Wealthy Romans kept enslaved Greek
servants who had once been teachers and doctors.
Many Romans learned the Greek language.
Trouble in the Republic
As Roman armies conquered more lands, the
wealthiest Romans grew richer. They used enslaved
people to work on their land. Enslaved people were not paid for the work they did, such as
farming. As a result, rich farmers could sell their crops for less money than farmers who had
to pay workers. This gave richer farmers a big advantage over other farmers. Many poor
farmers were forced out of business and lost their land.
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The Great Conquerors
Many farmers who lost their land came to Rome. They were out of work and hungry. They
wanted help from the Roman government. But the Senate controlled the government, and
many senators were rich landowners. They did not care about helping the poor people of
Rome.
Several leaders told the Senate to help the people who had lost their land. But the Senate did
not listen. Unhappiness among the Roman people grew. The Roman Republic was growing
weak.
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Pompeii
PompeiiThis text is adapted from an original work of the Core Knowledge Foundation.
The ruins of many Roman buildings still stand today.These ruins of Pompeii, Italy, reveal a lot about the past.
Today, the city of Rome is the capital of a country called
Italy. Two thousand years ago, Rome was the center of the
world's greatest empire-the Roman Empire. The Romans
ruled all the lands around the Mediterranean Sea.
The ancient Romans were very good builders. Remains of
their bridges, roads, aqueducts, and buildings are found in
many places. A few ancient Roman bridges are still used
today.
The remains of many ancient buildings stand in Rome and
other places. These remains are called ruins.
Roman ruins are thousands of years old. These old ruins
are usually damaged.
Weather caused most of the damage. Heat, cold, rain, snow, hail, and wind all had an effect. Earthquakes
and fires have caused problems, too.
People have also taken pieces from the ruins. Wars and air pollution have also had a harmful impact.
It can be hard to picture what these buildings looked like in Roman times. However, there is an area in
Italy where nature has preserved these ancient buildings. This area is southeast of Rome, near the Bay of
Naples and Mount Vesuvius.
Mount Vesuvius
Mount Vesuvius is a volcano. A volcano is formed when melted, or molten, rock pushes up from deep
underground.
Molten rock flows like mud. It pushes through cracks in Earth's crust. It then flows across earth's surface.
Later it cools and becomes hard.
Sometimes molten rock explodes out of a volcano. This is called a volcanic eruption. Rock and hot ash
explode in the air and fall around the volcano. When this happens, plant and animal life are damaged or
destroyed.
Sometimes smoke, dirt, and debris (/deh*bree/) from a volcanic eruption can block out the sun. The sky
can stay dark for days as debris falls back to Earth.
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Pompeii
Mount Vesuvius is just a few miles from Pompeii.
Mount Vesuvius Buries Pompeii
Mount Vesuvius erupted on August 24, 79 CE. Rock and ash
exploded from the volcano. The debris fell like rain for two days.
The town of Pompeii (/pom*pay/) was six miles away from Mount
Vesuvius. Hot gas killed many people without warning. Then rock
and ash from the eruption buried the town. Pompeii disappeared
under twenty-three feet of volcanic debris.
Michael Wutky
This painting shows what the eruption of MountVesuvius may have looked like.
The debris
damaged every
building in Pompeii.
That same debris
preserved Pompeii as it was at the moment the disaster
struck. The town remained buried and forgotten for almost
1,700 years.
Pompeii Is Found
The buried town was found in 1763. Since then, people from
all over the world come to explore Pompeii. Some people
come to search for statues or gold coins. Some people come to study Roman buildings. Others want to
find out about volcanic eruptions. Everyone wants to know what happened on that awful day. It took years
of digging to find certain answers.
Today, more than half of Pompeii has been dug up. This work is done by experts called archaeologists.
They are still digging, slowly and carefully. While they want to find out more, they do not want to do any
more harm to the ancient city's remains.
Daily Life in Pompeii
Pompeii has taught us much about the Roman people. The buildings of Pompeii are filled with things
people used every day. These things help us understand how ancient Romans lived.
Pompeii was a town of about twenty thousand people. The town was built next to a river. The river flowed
into the Bay of Naples. Ships from all over the Roman world brought goods that could be traded in
Pompeii.
The people of Pompeii traded wine, olive oil, grain, pottery, and wool cloth. In the busy marketplace,
farmers sold fruits and vegetables. Politicians made speeches. Poets shared their latest poems.
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Pompeii
Pompeii had more than two hundred places to eat and drink. Craftspeople made and sold metal cups and
dishes. Shops made and sold perfume. The town also had bakers, builders, and bankers.
Wknight94 (CC BY-SA 3.0)
The ruins of Pompeii, including this water fountain, giveus a glimpse of daily life in Rome.
The People of Pompeii
The people of Pompeii loved art. Paintings decorated the
walls of shops and houses. Huge statues decorated the
temples and the town forum. Beautiful mosaics decorated
the walls and floors of houses and public buildings.
The people of Pompeii also had fun. They kept dogs and
birds as pets. They built beautiful gardens. They bathed at
the public baths or the town swimming pool. They wrestled
at the town gym. The people of Pompeii watched plays and
concerts in town theaters. They watched gladiators fight in
the town amphitheater.
The people of Pompeii drank from public fountains. They wrote messages on the walls of almost every
building. They built huge temples to their gods. Venus, the goddess of love, seems to have been their
favorite.
We know all of these things because Mount Vesuvius erupted about two thousand years ago. The eruption
was a disaster for the people of Pompeii. For historians, though, the eruption provided a helpful way to
learn about life in the Roman world.
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The Start of Rome
The Start of RomeThis text is adapted from an original work of the Core Knowledge Foundation.
Rome became an important city on the banks ofthe Tiber River.
Two thousand years ago, Rome was the center of
the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire was one of
the world's greatest empires. The Romans ruled all
the lands around the Mediterranean Sea.
But how did Rome begin? Rome probably began
when some farmers and shepherds built a village of
small huts on one of the seven hills near the Tiber
River. These people probably settled by the Tiber
because it was a good place to live. The soil was
rich. There was plenty of water, and the river was
good for travel. An island in the river near the village
made crossing the river easier.
The seven hills around the Tiber made it hard for
enemies to attack. Rome grew as more people
settled on those hills. That is why Rome became
known as the "City of Seven Hills."
Over time, Rome came to control a large areaaround the Mediterranean Sea.
According to legend, Rome was founded in 753
BCE. The letters BCE stand for "Before the Common
Era." The Common Era began in year 0. That means
Rome is more than 2,750 years old.
For many years, kings ruled Rome. Over time the
kings became greedy for power. In 509 BCE the
Romans drove out their king. They decided not to
trust anyone else to be king. Instead, the Romans
made their city a republic. In a republic, people
choose representatives to rule for them.
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Roman Lands
Roman LandsThis text is adapted from an original work of the Core Knowledge Foundation.
Rome's empire spread from the Italian peninsulathrough most of Europe and parts of Asia and
Africa.
Once, it was very easy to see all of the Roman world
from one spot. In 750 BCE, all you had to do was
climb a hill near the Tiber River. From that place you
could see a few farms, fishermen's huts, and small
clusters of houses. That was all there was to Rome
at that point in history.
In time, the Roman world grew. The Romans were
good at conquering other lands. They were also
good at ruling the lands they conquered. The
Romans expected conquered people to work hard
and send taxes to Rome.
Eventually, the Roman world grew so large that the
only way to see the whole empire would have been to look down from space. Of course, there
was no way to do that in Roman times. Instead, the Romans used maps to show all the lands
they ruled. These lands were located on three continents: Europe, Asia, and Africa. The map
shows the Roman Empire when it was very large. Let's take a tour.
Italy and the Mediterranean
The city of Rome is located on the Italian peninsula. Do you see it? If you can't find the Italian
peninsula, look for the piece of land that looks like a boot. Do you see the toe and the high
heel?
The Italian peninsula is part of the continent of Europe. Between the Italian peninsula and the
rest of Europe are the Alps. The Alps are a high snow-covered mountain range. Hannibal and
his elephants crossed the Alps during the Second Punic War.
The Italian peninsula sticks out into the Mediterranean Sea. Once the Romans controlled the
Italian peninsula, they conquered islands and coastal areas around the Mediterranean. After a
while, the Romans controlled the whole Mediterranean region. They called the Mediterranean
"our sea."ReadWorks.org · © 2017 ReadWorks®, Inc. All rights reserved.This article is based on an original work of the Core Knowledge® Foundation made availablethrough licensing under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. This does not in any way imply that the CoreKnowledge Foundation endorses this work. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercialShareAlike 4.0 InternationalLicense. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Page 9 of 16
Roman Lands
Greece and the Balkans
The Adriatic Sea is northeast of the Italian peninsula. Across the Adriatic Sea is Greece. As
you know, ancient Greece was very important to the Romans. The Romans liked Greek ideas
about education, art, building, and government. They used these ideas in Rome. They also
brought these ideas to their provinces.
East of Greece is the Aegean Sea. The Aegean is connected to another large body of water:
the Black Sea. These two seas are connected by a narrow waterway, or strait. This strait is
called the Bosporus. It separates Europe from Asia Minor.
The Bosporus passes through a city that was once called Constantinople. Today its name is
Istanbul. This city was important to the Roman Empire. You will learn more about it later.
Asia and Africa
Constantinople is on the tip of the peninsula called Asia Minor. Today the peninsula is home
to the nation of Turkey. Two thousand years ago, Asia Minor was part of the Roman Empire.
It is from this place that Julius Caesar sent his famous "Veni, vidi, vici" message.
The remains of the Library of Celsus in Ephesus,Turkey, are what is left of this ancient Roman
building.
The Romans also controlled Mesopotamia and the
kingdom of Egypt. Egypt was the home of Cleopatra.
It was also one of the richest of Rome's provinces. It
had ports on the Mediterranean Sea and the Red
Sea. It also had rich lands along the Nile River.
The Romans had provinces along the North African
coast too. Carthage controlled some of that coastline
until the end of the Third Punic War. Then Rome
gained control of this land.
Back to Europe
At the western end of the North African coastline is the Strait of Gibraltar. This strait connects
the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Spain is north of Gibraltar, on the continent of
Europe. The Romans conquered Spain. Then, Julius Caesar conquered the large area to the
north. The Romans called this area Gaul. Today, we call this area France.
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Roman Lands
The Romans also had an island province north of Europe. They called this province Britannia.
Today this land is part of Great Britain.
All Roads Lead to Rome
Livioandronico2013 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The Appian Way, the most famous road ofancient Rome, was built in 312 BCE. Parts of the
road are still used today.
To control such a large empire, Roman officials
needed a way to travel easily. To do this, they built
roads. These roads were paved with smooth slabs of
stone. The Roman army could travel quickly over the
paving stones to get where it was needed.
The Roman Empire had more than fifty thousand
miles of roads. These roads connected every
province of the empire to Rome itself. That is why
the Romans said, "All roads lead to Rome."
Today, in areas of Asia, Africa, and Europe, some
highways and railroad lines still follow the routes of the ancient Roman roads.
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The Punic Wars
The Punic WarsThis text is adapted from an original work of the Core Knowledge Foundation.
Jacob Wyatt
Carthage was a powerful enemy of Rome.
In its early days, Rome was a small city with a small
army. This army was made up of Roman citizens
and included both patricians (members of ancient
Rome's highest social class) and plebeians
(common people without power in ancient Rome). It
was a great honor to be in the army and defend the
city of Rome.
The Romans fought some of their neighbors. When
the Romans conquered an enemy, they took control
of the land and people living there. In time, the
Roman army became large and powerful. By the
year 265 BCE, the army had conquered most of the Italian peninsula. In 264 BCE the
Romans went to war against Carthage. Carthage was a powerful nation located across the
Mediterranean Sea on the coast of North Africa. Today, the city of Tunis stands where
Carthage once stood.
The Punic Wars
These wars against the Carthaginians (/kar*thuh*jin*ee*ans/) are called the Punic (/pue*nik/)
Wars. The name comes from Latin, the language spoken by the Romans. The Latin word
Punicus means Carthaginian. So, a Punic War is a war between Rome and Carthage. Since
Rome and Carthage went to war three times, these wars are called the First, Second, and
Third Punic Wars. They were fought between 264 and 146 BCE.
The First Punic War
The First Punic War was different from any war the Romans had fought before. Carthage was
a rich nation with a large navy. When the First Punic War began, Carthage had five hundred
fighting ships. Rome had no navy at all.
The Romans were determined to win. They built warships and learned to fight at sea. They
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The Punic Wars
learned to fight in formation. They trained tens of thousands of sailors to man their warships.
They fought the Carthaginians for twenty-three long years. When the First Punic War ended
in 241 BCE, the Romans had won.
Jacob Wyatt
Roman soldiers trained to fight in formation.
Hannibal
Hannibal's route from Spain to the lands of Rome
At the end of the First Punic War, a young
Carthaginian boy named Hannibal waited for his
father to return from battle. His father was an
important leader in the Carthaginian army. Hannibal
wanted to be a soldier like his father. More than
anything, he wanted to fight against the Romans.
When Hannibal's father returned, he became
commander of Carthage's army. He then conquered
the rich lands along the northwest coast of the
Mediterranean. Today this area is called Spain.
When he was nine years old, Hannibal went to Spain with his father and the army. Hannibal
grew to be an excellent soldier, like his father. When he was twenty-six years old, Hannibal
took command of the Carthaginian army.
Hannibal was a great general. He was brave and clever in battle. He treated his men fairly
and earned their respect and loyalty.
The Second Punic War
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The Punic Wars
Hannibal still wanted to fight Rome. In 219 BCE he attacked a town that was friendly with
Rome. This attack started the Second Punic War.
Next, Hannibal decided to march his army from Spain to Italy. This meant crossing wide rivers
and the tall snow-covered mountains known as the Alps.
Jacob Wyatt
Roman legions feared the elephants when theyfirst saw them.
It would be hard for the soldiers to cross these rivers
and mountains. Hannibal also had to get thousands
of horses and dozens of elephants across these
barriers. The Carthaginian army used African
elephants in battle. Most of their enemies in Europe
had never seen elephants and were terrified by
them.
The Romans thought that no army would ever be
able to cross the rugged Alps. They were wrong.
The Carthaginians made it over the Alps and onto
the Italian peninsula. The crossing took fifteen hard
days, and Hannibal lost almost half his men.
Hannibal fought the Romans on the Italian peninsula for the next sixteen years. He won great
battles, but Romans would not give up.
Eventually, the Romans sent an army to attack Carthage. Hannibal rushed home. Outside
Carthage, Hannibal met a Roman army led by General Scipio Africanus
(/sip*ee*oeh/af*rih*kay*nus/). The Roman army won the battle. Carthage surrendered, but
Hannibal continued to fight. He moved from place to place, staying away from the Romans.
When the Romans finally trapped him, Hannibal refused to surrender. Instead, he killed
himself.
The Third Punic War
After the Second Punic War, Rome and Carthage were at peace for more than fifty years.
Then in 149 BCE, the Third Punic War began. The Romans sent a huge army to Africa. The
fighting lasted only three years. In the end, the Romans destroyed the city of Carthage. The
Carthaginians who were not killed were enslaved.
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The Legend of Romulus and Remus
The Legend of Romulus and RemusThis text is excerpted from an original work of the Core Knowledge Foundation.
Jed Henry
In Roman legend, twins Romulus and Remus were set adrift in a basket in the Tiber River.
Today, the city of Rome is the capital of a country called Italy. Two thousand years ago,
Rome was the center of the world's greatest empire-the Roman Empire. The Romans ruled
all the lands around the Mediterranean Sea. How did this great empire begin? The Romans
had a story, or legend, that explained this.
The Legend of Romulus and Remus
Jed Henry
Mars, the Roman god of war, had twin sons named
Romulus and Remus. When the twins were born,
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Page 15 of 16
The Legend of Romulus and Remus
In the legend, a mother wolf found Romulus andRemus.
Mars promised that they would someday start a
great empire.
A jealous uncle kidnapped the baby boys. He asked
a servant to drown them in the Tiber River. The
servant took pity on the boys. Instead of drowning
them, he put them in a reed basket. He placed the
basket in the river.
The twin boys were lucky. As the basket floated down the river, it drifted toward the riverbank.
The basket hit the riverbank, and Romulus and Remus fell out. Then something moved in the
bushes near the shore. It was a mother wolf! She had heard the babies crying. She nudged
them with her nose and then with her paw. The wolf saw that the twins were hungry. She fed
them milk just as she fed her own cubs.
Later, a shepherd found the boys and raised them as his own sons. After the boys grew up,
they decided to build a city near the Tiber River where the wolf had found them.
Jed Henry
Romulus and Remus fought over where to buildtheir city.
The brothers began to argue. They fought over
where to start building the city. During this fight,
Romulus killed Remus. Romulus became the first
king of the city, which would be named after
him-Rome.
Romulus ruled Rome for many years, until he
disappeared during a storm. The Romans believed
that his father, the god Mars, took Romulus into
heaven. There, Romulus became a god too.
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